Bulletin Board

TRIP TIPS - NEWS & ADVICE FOR BETTER TRAVELING

October 31, 1999

Instead of going for the gold, Consumer Reports picked platinum after a hard look at best mile deals among travel cards. The ``Consumer Reports Travel Letter'' wasn't thrilled with any of the so-called deals that offer miles, rewards and often short-term low rates.

But the one judged best was Miles One, a bank-sponsored Visa Platinum card from Capital One. The card costs $19 a year and offers a 9.9 percent interest rate. For every dollar spent, the cardholder gets a frequent-flier point in any major-airline program he or she specifies.

Delta's American Express Platinum was the newsletter's pick of airline cards because it offers a sign-up bonus of 15,000 miles and a free companion ticket each year. The annual American Express fee is a hefty $135, but Consumer Reports editors decided Delta's rewards give more for the money than most. The article also gave good marks to US Airways' Dividend Miles cards and Continental's Platinum Visa and MasterCard programs.

A subscription to ``Consumer Reports Travel Letter'' is $39 a year and can be ordered by calling 1-800-365-0396 or online at consumer reports.com.

GADGETS TO GO

As the list of carry-on luggage restrictions gets bigger, travelers may wish for a camera that's smaller.

To that end, Samsung has come out with the Evoca 70S, a fully automatic, power-zoom 35-70mm camera that fits in the palm of a hand and weighs 7 ounces. It offers red-eye reduction; landscape or panorama modes; a built-in self-timer; and date, time and caption imprinting. It also has an ``intelligent flash'' with a feature that eliminates shadows from the subject.

The Evoca 70S should be on shelves soon at camera stores, which also can order them. It has a suggested retail price of $199.99. For more information, call (201) 902-0347 or go to Samsung's Web site, www.simplyamazing.com

TOP 10

Business Traveler magazine has selected the top airline wine offerings in business class in its annual Cellars in the Sky tasting competition. In descending order, the best are:

If the idea of schussing down mountain slopes leaves you cold, you may wish to con-

sider the warm options offered in a new book, Tropical Family Vacations (St. Martin's Griffin Press, $16.95). Laura Sutherland, author of many family-travel books, focuses on South Florida, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Mexico.

The paperback recommends what to do and where to stay, plus it gives highlights of individual Caribbean and Hawaiian islands. It lists lodging names, phone numbers, Web sites, prices and addresses, and has ideas for family-friendly activities such as submarine rides, volcano hikes, sand-dune sliding, kayaking and snorkeling.